Bryce Canyon Day 2

We got upgraded hotels when we arrived, so we were in the one across the street with the really nice breakfast. We also had two rooms, so each of the boys had their own beds, and only Mom and Dad had to share. It was important we got a good night's sleep and a good breakfast because we had an e-bike ride scheduled at 9 o'clock. We snugged on our helmets, loaded our saddlebags, and started our ride into Bryce Canyon National Park. 

The ride was really beautiful along the bike trail, and we spotted a few deer on the way in. Later we spotted a towhee, pinyon jays, tanagers, and even a short-horned lizard. We weaved in and out of bristle cone pines in the perfect cool morning. It really was very beautiful, and we got to see this park in a way we'd never experienced before. Several times we parked the bikes and walked to a viewpoint to enjoy the view. Mostly, we enjoyed cruising along through the trees, feeling the wind in our hair. We enjoyed the 5 mile ride so much that we even took an extra ride to Fairyland Overlook.

Riding the e-bikes was so much fun.

It was amazing to go into a national park this way.

Mom had a blast!

Dax was nice and hung out in the back with mom!

Bryce Canyon is beautiful!

We liked riding to all the viewpoints on our bikes.

Such a beautiful day!

This was our favorite thing at Bryce Canyon this trip.

Cute little horned lizard.

Seth loved being able to ride his own bike!

We made it to our fourth Utah National Park this year.

After returning the bikes, we were ready for a hike. We know a short half-mile walk just outside the park called Mossy Cave, which features a man-made waterfall. We'd done this one before, but it's fun and easy, so we walked along slowly and enjoyed ourselves.

The water was freezing. We didn't last long!

We love this little trail.

The boys wanted a quick lunch before our next hike, so we stopped at Subway. Then we made a drive out to Taylor Creek. This one is another old favorite, though it is a little longer and much more difficult to get to. Still, it has a waterfall and narrows down to a slot in three separate places. Then, it ends at a fairly large arch. There are only a few places you can see all three of those features on one hike.

Willis Creek is amazing!

The rock formations are so cool.

The waterfall was just a trickle this visit.

Mark is such a good rock explorer.

Dax was a good hiker despite his aching knee.

It was hot!

We had a fun time!

We went back to the hotel for a short break in the middle of the day. It wasn't too hot, but we'd been really busy, so we sat for a while. The boys even spent a little time in the pool before we grabbed dinner.

Then we went to the rodeo. They have a small rodeo that runs every day in the summer, and though it didn't really compare to the Lehi Round-Up, it was still entertaining. They had kids involved with riding sheep and barrel racing. On our night, no one successfully rode a bull for more than 5 seconds, not to mention 8, but the bulls were still exciting. Mostly we laughed along with the other fans at the fun, rather than watched a world-class rodeo like we're used to.

We have so much fun together.

Always being silly.

This rodeo was pretty small!

We still had fun!

The sunset was nice!